


Now I Found A Real Love

by chewysugar



Series: 2019 Advent Calendar [2]
Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Disney Princesses
Genre: Advent Calendar Drabble, Anxiety, Christmas Fluff, Drabble, F/M, Fluff, Holding Hands, Holidays, Love, M/M, Post-Curse, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-25 02:02:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21648262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chewysugar/pseuds/chewysugar
Summary: Adam forgot his mittens. It's a good thing Belle didn't.
Relationships: Adam/Belle (Disney), LeFou/Stanley (Disney: Beauty and the Beast)
Series: 2019 Advent Calendar [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559248
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Now I Found A Real Love

**Author's Note:**

> Day 2 of my 2019 Advent Calendar! This is a convoluted game I'm playing where I pick a fandom and prompt via online generator and pair it with a randomly selected song from my Christmas playlist, then unleash it upon the unsuspecting public! 
> 
> Today's fandom: Disney.   
> Today's prompt: Hand-holding.   
> Today's song: Last Christmas by Wham.

He’d been away from his people for so long that the very idea of walking among them filled Adam with dread unlike anything he’d ever known. But he’d promised Belle—his beautiful, intuitive Belle—that they would visit the town together once the holiday dawned. At first, Adam had thought he could handle this simple task. 

But memory worked a spell over him the likes of which put The Enchantress to shame. He chose a simple carriage to talk them down the roads; dressed in simple winter clothes, and would only take Lumiere and Cogsworth with him. Pomp and pageantry would be unbecoming after the beastly bastard he’d been. 

Belle looked with wonder on all they saw, for the countryside in winter was truly spectacular: trees crowned with snow; fields resplendent in white, and the sky shot through with rosy pinks and gentle molten gold. If seeing her eyes so alight with joy was the reward for walking among the people he’d once been so despotic towards, then he’d face the guillotine if it came to it. 

“It’s...” Belle was, for once lost for words. Dressed in a thick but simple fur mantle, she stared at all she saw like a child. “A painter couldn’t capture it.” She gripped the window of the carriage and gasped as Villeneuve came into view. Even Adam, resigned as he was, couldn’t help the slight sparkle that came into his eyes. Smoke rose comfortingly from several chimneys. Each rooftop was blanketed in the vestiges of the recent bounty of snow. Children threw snowballs at each other; the pond had been turned into a skating rink where couples where wobbling and gliding around on the ice. 

Squinting, Adam pointed out the window. “Isn’t that Stanley and LeFou?” 

Belle laughed, and Adam, as ever, felt warmth in his gut at the sound. “Yes, and they’re clearly putting the rest of them to shame.” 

Adam shook his hand like a wet dog. He’d left his hand to the elements briefly, but still—it was bitterly cold outside, and in his haste to leave the castle, he’d failed to cover himself as sufficiently as Belle. 

The carriage clattered over the bridge. People pointed and stared. Adam sat back in his seat, keeping his eyes fixed on the decorated door frames and bright, mullioned windows. His hands trembled at the idea of meeting these people after so long away. Supposing they reviled him for what he’d been when he was that holy terror of a brat prince? Suppose they threw things at Belle for betraying them? Or—

Something warm covered his shaking, icy hands. He looked up, to find Belle had placed her mittened hands over his own. In her eyes was that no-nonsense understanding he adored so much. It was compassionate, yes, but also bracing and beyond reproach—the sort of look that said, “I see you; I hear you. But you’re being ridiculous.” 

“I told you to bring gloves,” Belle said quietly. Lumiere, at the reins, pulled the carriage towards the fountain in the middle of the square. 

Adam cleared his throat. Really, his fingers already felt as if they were basking in sunlight under her touch. “I’m afraid I was too engrossed in my own reflection when you said that.” 

Belle snorted, but squeezed his hand tighter. “Ah yes. There’s the vanity you know I love so much.” 

A crowd had gathered around the carriage. At the excited buzz of conversation from the villagers outside, Adam felt his vision begin to swim. 

“Adam.” 

He took a gulp of air. He could always tell Lumiere to turn around...

“Look at me.” 

He opened his eyes to gaze at her face once more. 

“Just keep tight to me.” She ran her mittens over his knuckles. “For the sake of not getting frostbite, at least.” 

“You...” He hated how pitiful he sounded. He was meant to be King; lover, provider...Man. But he was, he knew, only human. If he hadn’t learned at least that after his long years as a monster, then what good had any of it done. “You won’t let go?” 

Belle smiled. Outside, Cogsworth kicked down the steps of the carriage. A tremor broke through the crowd. 

“Never.” 

And she didn’t.

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a hot minute since I wrote Beauty and the Beast. It feels good to come back. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! Leave a comment, kudo or bookmark if the mood strikes you.


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